FUJIFILM X-T1 (56mm, f/1.2, 1/32000 sec, ISO200)

A walk on a sunny winters day. Nothing of interest except some empty branches against the setting sun in the background. The image is far from perfect but it perfectly captures my mood.

But not all is sad. There are first signs that the winter will come to an end. It stays light till after 6pm and our favorite cat already has its moments of craziness. Everything is ready to get back to life. But it will be at least another one and a half months before spring arrives here. I should have got used to it by now but this year I can’t wait.

Maybe you already recognized the EXIF data under the shots. Since the last firmware update for my Fuji X-T1 the camera is capable of shutter speeds of 1/32.000s. That is fast, very fast and strangely it is more useful than you might think especially if you shot with a fast prime in bright daylight. The lowest ISO setting on the X-T1 is ISO 200 and the fastest shutter speed of 1/4.000s is simply not good enough if you want to shoot wide open during the day. In the past you had two options: 1. use a neutral grade filter (which is a pain in the neck) or 2. to stop down the lens (which is not a nice thing if you want to separate the subject from the background).

Now there is a simple solution: Just use the electronic shutter! The good thing is that there is not even an extra knob to push. With the menu set to mechanical plus electronic shutter the shutter changes to electronic shutter automatically as soon as 1/4.000s would lead to overexposure. Beside the Classical Chrome film setting the electronic shutter is the best improvement the new firmware has brought to us. A real upgrade to an already great camera.

FUJIFILM X-T1 (56mm, f/2, 1/22000 sec, ISO200)